Classic Gaming Events

Video game conventions and clubs can be a great way to make connections, make friends, and build your gaming collection. We've gathered a listing of all the national, regional, and even some international events to make it easier for you to connect with your fellow classic gamers. These events range from casual local swap meets to national conventions that have attract thousands of gamers. Most of the large events are held annually, while some of the club meetings occur several times per year. If you have an event you would like to see included, tell us about it.

The Atari Computer Enthusiasts of Columbus will be holding their annual vintange computer and video game swap meet on Saturday, September 13th 2008. It will be held at the same place as last year, at the Oakland Park Community Building in Columbus, Ohio. As you might notice, this year the event has a new name. This year the show is going to include all vintage and classic computers and video games, systems, accessories, games, and software. Admission is free!

America's VideoGame Expo is three days of videogame revelry. The VGXPO is an annual gaming festival - where gamers and industry insiders can come together to celebrate videogames. Attendees come to VGXPO to experience the newest games, encounter game industry legends, compete in tournaments, buy games and meet with friends. The 2009 VGXPO will take place October 9-11 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in downtown Philadelphia.

The Cincinnati Commodore Computer Club last held an expo for Commodore enthusiasts June 28-29, 2008. Show goes experienced 30 hours of Commodore activity during the entire weekend, including plenty of demos and shops to keep you busy! The C=4 Expo took place at the Drawbridge Inn of Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky, just across the river from Cincinnati.

California Extreme is the "Classic Arcade Games Show". In a nutshell, it's an annual celebration of coin operated pinball machines, video games and other novelties you once found in game arcades. It's two days that celebrate this exceptional entertainment medium, featuring tournaments, speakers, parts vendors, and an opportunity to play games you may have not seen for years. All the games on display are set for free play, so leave your quarters in the ash tray in your car. You won't need 'em. The 2008 show took place July 19th and 20th at the Parkside Hall in San Jose, California.

The last Carolina Games Summit was held Saturday January 26th 2008 10AM - 9PM at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, NC. This year's hybrid festival delivered industry speakers, video game tournaments, product promotions, exhibition booths, and educational sessions. The next show is slated for February 7th, 2009. Visit www.CarolinaGamesSummit.com for more information.

The last CinciClassic
was held April 7th and 8th at the Fairfield Banquet and Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. CinciClassic focuses on the classic gaming systems from the 70's and 80's,including systems from Atari, Intellivision, Colecovision, Vectrex and many more. Many of these systems are setup for play throughout the show and attendees are also able to partake in various tournaments. And of course you can augment your classic gaming collection thanks to the vendors who attend the show. Admission to the CinciClassic is free.

Classic Gaming Expo is one of the largest classic gaming events, and this year the show returned to Las Vegas after moving to California in 2004. The Classic Gaming Expo features dealers, industry programmers from the 1980's, keynote speeches, gaming contests, a museum, a guest swap meet, and more. The 2007 show was held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino on July 28th and 29th.

Buy, sell, trade, play, and see classic video games, systems, peripherals, memorabilia, and more at the Cleveland Console & Arcade Gaming Show (CCAG), Sunday, May 5th, 2009 in Fairview Park, Ohio. Vendors, clubs, and collectors will be displaying and selling their retrogaming and retrocomputing goods, from Pong and Atari to Nintendo, and everything in between with many prizes and games set up for you to play with and explore.

The third annual Emergency Chicagoland Commodore Convention (ECCC) took place on September 27th, 2008 at the Fairfield Inn and Suites in Lombard, Illinois. The ECCC is a free event for enthusiasts of Commodore computers, and previous events have had notable Commodore celebrities and vendors in attendance. You can learn more by visiting the ECCC website.

The last annual EuroCon took place from September 30th through October 2nd, 2005, at the Kolping-Haus hotel in Bochum, Germany. EuroCon is an annual gathering of video game collectors, with a focus on classic games from before the 16-bit era. If you're in Europe and able to attend, you're sure to have a great time playing, discussing, and trading video games, participating in tournaments, bidding in the auction, and participating in other special events. You can learn more by visiting the EuroCon website.

The Houston Area Arcade Group (HAAG) held their 7th Annual Arcade Expo on November 7th and 8th at the Crowne Plaza Houston Reliant Park. Admission is $25 for a weekend pass or $15 for a single day, which gets you access to well over 100 arcade games and pinball machines all set to free play! You can also participate in arcade and pinball tournaments, win door prizes, try your luck at a game raffle, and partake in the full bar. There aren't many opportunities to enjoy large collections of classic arcade games, so if you are in the Houston area (or can get there!), you should be at this expo! For more information, please visit ArcadeCenter.com.

MAGFest is a video and computer gaming festival run by fans, for fans. Some like to call us a convention, others like to call us a party. Both of these are somewhat accurate, but really, MAGFest is a unique experience that we hope you'll enjoy. While similar to most fan-based (anime, scifi, fantasy, etc) conventions, we do things a little differently. We're a lot more laid-back. We don't have a huge dealer room. We have a large focus on music (2+ concerts worth). Our special guests tend to fit right in and socialize with the rest of the crowd. Our "costume contest" has a reputation of being a "costume roast". Lots of attendees set up games in their rooms and leave their door open to invite others inside.

The Midwest Gaming Classic is the Midwest's only all-encompassing electronic gaming event, held near Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event features tons of displays, vendors and special attractions for arcade uprights, computers, pinball and home video games from past to present. The event boasts 21,000 square feet of space, a large assortment of arcade and pinball machines, and speakers. The 2009 event will take place at the Olympia Resort in Oconomowoc, WI on March 21st and 22nd.

The NEOVGCON show caters to fans of video games from the 70s through today, with exhibitors and vendors featuring video gaming consoles, games, accessories, mobile phones, mobile gaming and more. The next event is slated to take place March 21st and 22nd, 2009 at the Holiday Inn Select in Strongsville, Ohio. You can learn more about the event by visiting the NEOVGCON web site.

The 2008 Oklahoma Video Game Exposition (OVGE) took place Saturday, August 9th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Atari, Coleco, Mattel, Nintendo, Sega and many more of your favorite classic gaming systems rose again from history in all their glory as the Marriott Tulsa Southern Hills Hotel hosted the fifth OVGE. The Oklahoma Video Game Exhibition is a gathering of collectors, video game enthusiasts, and vendors coming together to show, trade, buy, sell and have an incredible time! If you're a classic gaming fan and can get to the show, we highly recommend it!

The NorthWest Classic Games Enthusiasts (NWCGE), a Pacific NorthWest-based group dedicated to the preservation and promotion of classic video games, is holding the 2009 Portland Retro Games Expo on August 20th in Portland, Oregon. The expo brings together classic video game fans from across the NorthWest. Open to the public, it is an opportunity for nostalgic gamers to revisit their favorite video game systems of yore. The Retro Gaming Expo isn't just for collectors. Anyone with an interest in home video gaming will find something to enjoy. The expo features vendors and exhibitions of classic game consoles as well as contests and tournaments.

We are SC3, "Southern California Classic Collectors", your local Classic game collector's group serving the Metropolitan Los Angeles, San Diego and Inland Empire areas. We invite all those who can come to our meetings for play, trade, showing off your precious rares to an appreciative audience, or just to be amongst those who beat you to that Vectrex at one of the local Flea Markets a few months back. Whether you're looking for your first 2600, or an Intellivision Computer Module, we'd like to see you there!

The Texas Pinball Festival is Texas' biggest pinball/gameroom show, featuring over 10,000 square feet of pure gameroom fun, all weekend long! You can expect over 100 pinball machines, classic video games, and other gameroom goodies set for free play for everyone to enjoy the entire weekend! The Texas Pinball Festival also features many vendors and collectors from the area bringing parts, supplies, gameroom memorabilia, pinball machines, slot machines, jukeboxes and classic video games for sale. Other highlights of the show include Several tournaments so you can show your pinball prowess, informative seminars, and a coin-op swap meet.

The 2008 Pinball & Arcade Supershow is took place on September 19th and 20th at the Herrin Civic Center in downtown Herrin, Illinois. The 2008 event featured 21,000 square feet of space and played host to over 80 pinball machines and arcade games. For more information, please visit the Supershow website.

TooManyGames caters to gamers of all generations, from Atari to Xbox, where you can meet with other gamers, play games of all types, shop around, and win prizes in a variety of tournaments. The next TooManyGames event is being held May 3rd, 2009 at the Leesport Farmer's Market in Leesport, PA. To learn more about the event, please visit the TooManyGames web site.

The Atari Video Club/Jaguar Community United is holding their next event Video Game Summit on July 18th, 2009 at the Heron Point Convention Center in Lombard, Illinois. Besides your typical video game trading, tournaments, selling, and buying, attendees enjoyed free internet access, and pizza and soda are available for purchase at the show.

The Vintage Computer Festival (VCF) is a celebration of computers and their history, with multiple events typically scheduled throughout the year. Features generally include a series of speakers and workshops, an exhibit of vintage computers, a flea market for the vintage computer collector, and special events such as the Nerd Trivia Challenge. Several Vintage Computer Festivals are held each year around the country, and you can always find the latest information on upcoming events at the Vintage Computer Festival web site.

The World of Commodore is an annual event held by the Toronto PET User's Group (TPUG) that celebrates the world of Commodore computers. The event focuses on the Commodore 64/128 and features guest speakers and Commodore personalities, demonstrations of novel hardware and software projects, plenty of vendors, screenings of Commodore related videos, raffle prizes, and much more. The 2008 event was held in Toronto, Canada on December 6th.